


As for you, you'd forget me.

by punto_y_coma



Category: Anastasia - Flaherty/Ahrens/McNally
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 15:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15488946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punto_y_coma/pseuds/punto_y_coma
Summary: Unexpectedly, Gleb felt an electric shock go through him. It originated where his finger touched Anya's chin and traveled up his arm, striking at his chest, making his heart beat twice as fast."Not her," a voice inside his head pleaded. He wouldn't be able to protect her if he was her soulmate.Glenya Soulmate AU: Only your soulmate can kill you





	As for you, you'd forget me.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on one of @r-evolve-art 's soulmate prompts.
> 
> This is just the show with extra angst on top.  
> (Title from Jane Eyre)

After the revolution, nothing felt sacred our untouchable anymore. Especially when everyone knew that "neighbor against neighbor" wasn't as frightening as the thought of your soulmate turning against you. Your true love literally held your life in their hands: this was a universal truth.

In war, even love could be weaponized. And it was.

~

Anya had refused to shake his hand and had left her tea untouched on his desk. She didn't trust him. "And why would she trust you?" thought Gleb wistfully. Life had been tough on everyone but her ratty coat and her shaky hands told him that she'd had an especially difficult time. They talked about the danger of dreams above her station; Gleb gave her stern warnings instead of reassurance. She hadn't done anything illegal or dangerous - not yet, at least. And he wanted to keep her safe: a good and loyal Russian, a beautiful and strong girl...

As they said their goodbyes, he reached out with his hand and looked down at her; searching for a lie hidden in her countenance, trying to scare the cold away with his touch.

Unexpectedly, Gleb felt an electric shock go through him. It originated where his finger touched Anya's chin and traveled up his arm, striking at his chest, making his heart beat twice as fast.

"Not her," a voice inside his head pleaded. He wouldn't be able to protect her if he was her soulmate.

"Your eyes -” he said softly, trying to conceal his discomfort. His breath was strained like he had been running for a long time, "- a man can look right into them."

Anya remained impassive. If she had felt the same strike of electricity as he had, Gleb couldn't tell. Her demeanor revealed nervousness but, then again, that was the case for anyone that stepped into his office. Gleb took pride in being respected, feared even; he preferred that to false affection and hollow kindness. Now, however, feeling two heartbeats' worth of blood flowing through his veins, he wondered whether love was as great as people made it to be. For a split second he dared to imagine a lifetime staring into Anya's stormy eyes and not finding fear, just love.

"I'm late for work," replied Anya avoiding his gaze.

With a heavy heart, Gleb remembered that finding a soulmate wasn't always a happy occasion; history was full of tragic tales of unrequited love and matches broken by fate. It was a rare occurrence, yes, but some people had their hearts woken by their soulmate only to find that the shock hadn't gone both ways.

"It would be better that way," he thought gloomily. Being the soulmate of a soldier was no bargain, and his mother could attest to that.

"As your new friend, be careful, Anya," Gleb advised, looking at her searchingly. She cowered by his side, moving towards the door. He grabbed her elbow and stopped her in her tracks; his grasp tight as he tried to find her pulse under the woolen coat: all he could feel was his own frantic heartbeat on the tips of his fingers. "As deputy commissioner Gleb Vaganov, be very careful," he let her go.

With a wince, he flexed his fingers, feeling residual electricity as he did so. From his window he saw Anya walking briskly to the Yusopov Palace.

~

Later that week, Gleb found himself missing his doctor's appointment to go looking for Anya. He put his coat on and left his office, popping his collar up to protect his face from the wind. He made a habit of taking long walks around the Nevsky Prospect; catching glimpses of Anya in every crown braid, in every billowing skirt, in every sleeping body risking frostbite under a bridge...

He never found Anya again but he thought of her often. He thought of her and how she would look like in the springtime; all sun kissed cheeks and windblown hair. It seemed perfect for her, somehow.

~

It was a particularly dreary morning, the bite of winter fierce and relentless, and Gleb had been called to his superior's office. He had been expecting a promotion but this didn't seem like a celebratory meeting.

"Deputy Commissioner Vaganov!" his superior greeted him with a cold handshake and an even colder smile.

"Sir," Gleb nodded with deference.

"There's a matter of utmost importance, an intrigue if you will, and you seem to be at the center of it," said the man with a calm voice. Gleb felt his pulse accelerate.

"Sir?"

"Are you aware you missed your last mandatory medical checkup?" there was something dangerous under the polite tone of the grey haired man.

"I am in perfect health, sir."

"Then you won't mind if I take your pulse, Deputy Commissioner?" his superior took out a pocket watch and extended his right hand, palm up. "Your wrist, Vaganov," he commanded.

Gleb extended his arm; his wrist was immediately constricted in his superior's grip. After sixty seconds of tense silence, Gleb saw the man mouth the number seventy-eight, almost exactly the double of average heartbeats per minute for a man that hadn't encountered their soulmate.

"I gather you have found your soulmate, Vaganov?" his tone turned accusatory.

"Yes, sir," no sense in denying the obvious.

"Why did you fail to report this? It is your duty as a soldier, Vaganov, to account for these events."

"I didn't think it important. She's a street girl, not worth pursuing, sir."

"That's not for you to decide. Your duty is to your country, what if this country needs protecting from your insignificant street girl? Why, you would be the one called to action."

"Sir?" his confusion grew, accompanied by an ominous feeling on his chest.

"What is her name?"

"I didn't bother to ask, sir," Gleb tried his best to seem nonchalant about his lie.

"Is that so? We have reason to believe your soulmate is a street sweeper that goes by the name of Anya. She worked near the Nevsky Prospect?" Gleb gave a small nod of confirmation. They had been watching him, he realized. "Well, your street sweeper has fled the country, leaving a trail of gossip and lies behind her. I believe it is your duty as a soldier to show her the error of her ways," Gleb's mouth had suddenly turned to ash. "These are serious crimes, Vaganov, and we trust you will treat them as such."

"Yes, sir," he replied numbly.

"And remember, Vaganov, should you fail to do your job, we know creative ways to punish treason, yours and hers. I'm sure you know by now, there are worse things than death, boy."

"Yes, sir," Gleb contained a shudder.

~

Whispers and gossip led him to Anya; her conmen had planned an encounter with the Dowager Empress at the ballet. Gleb snuck discreetly into the theatre and tried to find her in the audience. At last, he recognized her stubborn frown in the face of a lady in blue. He had imagined her playing the part of the Grand Duchess, looking undignified and somewhat like a girl dressing up in her mother's clothes. Instead, he found a gorgeous woman, dazzling in the dim light of the theatre box. She was holding the hand of her conman, Dmitry. Gleb noticed with a pang of pain that the counterrevolutionary boy was as besotted with Anya as he was. Did he have his heart woken up by her touch too? Could he kill her too?

~

"I've come to take you home," Gleb told Anya, and he wanted it to mean "I've come to save you" but, of course, he really meant "I've come to do my duty." His gun felt like lead in its holster.

"Stop playing this game, Anya, I beg of you," he pleaded. If she stopped pretending, if she stopped lying, he could spare her.

He drew out his gun, a warning.

"Do it. And I will be with my parents and brother and sisters," she cried. Gleb cowered at the memory of their screams.

"For the last time, who are you?" he howled.

"I am the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov!" she screamed and he pointed his gun at her chest, then at her head. He looked straight into her eyes, all defiance and pride, like his father had described little Anastasia. He didn't want to imagine a world where those eyes, the eyes of his soulmate, were closed for good. His hands started shaking, his chest started heaving and his resolve started dissolving. Soon it became clear that he wouldn't be able to pull the trigger and the gun became too heavy for him to hold.

"I can't," Gleb dropped to his knees, with his pulse throbbing in his temples. He loosened his tie and left his gun at Anya's feet. It was a kind of offering: "Kill me, please, only you can do it and God knows what waits for me back home."

She kneeled by his side and moved the gun away. "I mean you no harm, Gleb," Anya said softly, like she could read his mind. She caressed his hair and Gleb reached out to grab her hand; he kissed her palm and then her knuckles. She was wearing white gloves, making the gesture seem distanced and cold. Perhaps it was better that way.

"I believe - I believe you _are_ Anastasia."

He gave her a sad smile and helped her up her feet. He held onto her hand and shook it. "Long life, comrade," he said and left. It wasn't a wish, it was a promise; no harm would come to her, not from his hand.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, comments and incoherent keysmashes are encouraged. Come talk to me at my tumblr (@aralisj) if you want <3


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